I was asked last week to join RecountNow.org. Since then I’ve been busy working on the recount and trying to make things go well.
RecountNow’s primary focus at this time is to get experienced eyes on the ground in the recount states. We have a handful of such “experts” on the ground now and are mobilizing more. These are people who have been a part of the election integrity movement for years, have been through recounts before, know particular things to be alert for, and several are even familiar with the computer and network aspects.
In 2004 I was an observer for the presidential recount here in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. There were many volunteers, the problem was that we were inexperienced and didn’t know what to look for. It turns out that the recount here was fraudulent (there were later court trials and people were sentenced to prison). The precincts that we recounted not only were not randomly chosen–they were presorted (“recounted”) before the recount ever started! The Board of Elections put on a good show, and we, in our ignorance, bought it.
RecountNow’s goal is to make sure this doesn’t happen again. We want to make sure each county proceeds with the recounts accurately. We’ve had some setbacks in all three states, but there is still much that we can learn even in the counties that are recounting by machine.
We need donations to reimburse our experts for travel, food and lodgings (Some supporters have offered housing). So fundraising is one of our greatest needs.
If you know someone else who could give financially, it would help us the most right now. Most of us are missing work and dipping into savings in order to do what we believe needs to be done now. It makes a real difference in our lives and expands our ability to oversee these crucial recounts.
In addition to donations, you can help out by sharing the link to our website (www.recountnow.org) with your friends, share us on social media (like us at facebook.com/recountnow and on follow us on Twitter @recountnow).
Michael Polsinelli
RecountNow.org
http://www.recountnow.org/